


hold your breath, let loose your heart

by steepedinwords



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Julie Molina, Cuddling & Snuggling, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, I set out to write fluff and cuddles but then everyone had feelings for 22 pages, Pining, Reggie is a Molina (Julie and The Phantoms), Rose is alive, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Sickfic, Spoilers for My Neighbour Totoro, What is this 10k nonsense, all of the Molinas are like 'you're doing amazing sweetie' every time they find these two cuddling, everyone else has seen it from a mile away, heavy on the comfort, how many synonyms can local writer find for 'tired'? the answer may surprise you, not plot relevant but she is, two doofuses who don't realise they're crushing on each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27665663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steepedinwords/pseuds/steepedinwords
Summary: "Luke’s sitting in the window seat, staring out at the city lights. He turns at the sound of her quiet footsteps behind him and she can’t see his face very well in the dark, but she’s pretty sure he’s smiling. He always smiles at her, she realises, with a little clench of her heart. "Julie was doing great at ignoring her crush on her brother's best friend, but then they had to both get the flu at the same time, and now they're cuddling and it's hard to be strong in the face of a sick Luke Patterson, okay?In which Julie and Luke get sick together, figure out some feelings while they recover, and everyone else is very quietly cheering them on.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 83
Kudos: 505





	hold your breath, let loose your heart

**Author's Note:**

> For anon on tumblr, who requested Julie/Luke sickfic, Reggie and Luke being best friends, Rose Molina alive, and Reggie adopted into the Molina family. Sorry it took a while! I thought it'd be quicker to write, but then it turned into a monster 10k fic because everyone kept having Feelings all over instead of just cuddling. I hope you like it!
> 
> Warnings: Non-graphic descriptions of some minor injuries and influenza and canon-level amounts of Luke's difficulties with his parents. Julie has a minor medical emergency (coughing fit + almost panic attack) but she'll be fine.
> 
> Title is from Molly Ofgeography's "Mile Magnificent."
> 
> 11/23/2020 - Now with cover art! I may have spent an hour out of my workday making that, oops.
> 
> Also, changed the rating to T because of language - I forgot to do that when posting, sorry!

Why is focusing on science so difficult tonight?

Julie sighs, fiddling with her pen. Her brothers are sprawled around the living room with her; they’re all supposedly doing their homework, or that’s what they told their mom when she brought them a plate of the fresh cookies their dad was baking. Rose had just raised a wry eyebrow at the three of them, and Julie’s sure she totally saw the way that Julie is doodling in the margins of her science notes, and Carlos is casting longing glances at his GameBoy and the turned-off TV in between completing math problems, and Reggie is definitely not checking his phone every three minutes.

Julie frowns at her older brother, who’s sitting on the other end of the couch, and pulls her headphones off to rest around her neck. Drawing little Marios and Luigis jumping over the chemical formulas in her notes can wait - Reggie looks unusually worried, and he’s checking his phone _again_ , and that worried look means it’s probably not Kayla, the girl from his English class he’s been crushing on. Julie pokes him with her toe, and he jumps. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Yeah, you’re acting weird.” Carlos scrambles up from where he’s been lying on his stomach on the floor, apparently eager for a distraction. “What happened, you find out you missed Kayla’s birthday or something?” 

Reggie sits up indignantly. “First of all, it’s not anywhere near Kayla’s birthday, because that’s in April - ” He catches the smug little grin on Carlos’ face and stops, his face going red. “How do you always manage to do that?”

“Natural talent.” Carlos grins and goes back to his math problems, and Reggie sighs. Julie prods him again, and Reggie grabs her socked foot to make her quit, tickling until she pulls back, giggling. They both fall back into seriousness.

“Seriously, Reg, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing! It’s nothing,” her brother mutters, but his phone lights up with a notification and he swipes at the screen to check it before his face falls again. “Okay, well. It’s Luke. He was gonna FaceTime me so we could study? But… he hasn’t called.” Reggie glances over at Carlos and lowers his voice. “A-and I know he’s been having a bad time at home lately,” he finishes quietly. “I’m just… worried about him.”

Julie sits up, stacks her books on the floor, and slides over on the couch to give her brother a hug. Reggie has issues with parents. She remembers how hard it was for him to trust her parents when he first moved in with her family, how long it had taken for Rose and Ray Molina to gain his full trust even after they adopted him. And even knowing and loving one set of very good parents for the last six years doesn’t erase the fact that he’s wary around most other adults. Add to that the fact that Luke’s fights with his own parents are quietly infamous within their friend group and have been steadily getting worse over the last year, and it’s no wonder Reggie’s anxious about his best friend.

“Hey, I’m sure it’s fine,” Julie reassures him. “You know Luke. He probably thought of a new melody line or a lyric or something and forgot about the time.”

Reggie nods, obviously trying to believe it. “Yeah. Okay.” He puts his phone facedown on the arm of the couch, resolutely not looking at it and turning his attention back to the book he’s trying to read… for an entire thirty seconds. Then he’s picking it up again to check. Julie sighs.

Luke’s been on her mind lately too - not quite for the same reasons. Luke doesn’t talk about his parents with her much; they don’t seem to have that kind of friendship, so most of what she knows is reading between the lines of what he doesn’t say or picked up from Reggie and Alex. 

No, Julie’s preoccupation is more of a crush. Specifically, a huge, embarrassing one she decided long ago she was never going to talk about to anyone but Flynn. 

See, the thing about getting Reggie for an adopted brother six years ago is that he came with his two best friends attached, and almost from the start of Reggie living with the Molinas, Alex and Luke have been a steady presence around the house. They help Rose in the garden and Ray in the kitchen, play videogames with Carlos with apparently endless patience, shoot hoops with Julie in the courtyard, raid the fridge with the comfort of boys who know they’re as welcome there as in their own homes. When they formed Sunset Curve three years ago, Rose had offered them part-time use of her music studio to practice, and they spend three nights a week and Saturday afternoons in there, jamming out and practicing and writing. There’s an air mattress in Reggie’s closet that gets pulled out every couple of weeks when one or both of the boys stay over, and even though Julie gets annoyed sometimes at the infestation of boys in her house, she does love having them around. Alex and Luke love her family, and she can see it in every interaction with them, whether it’s being careful not to intrude on Rose’s music time, baking spaceship cupcakes for Carlos’ birthday, or helping Julie with her flashcards when she has to study for a test. 

Her thing for Luke, though - that was a realisation that hit her all at once about a year ago. She’d been sitting in the loft with her legs dangling through the railing, watching the boys rehearse a song, and Luke had paused mid-bar, stuck his guitar pick between his teeth, and dived for his notebook to make a note of something that had just inspired him. Julie had seen him do the exact same thing dozens of times, but all of a sudden she was hit with a feeling so strong it almost rocked her back against the loft wall: a rush of tremendous fondness, combined with the thought, “Oh _no_ , he’s hot.” 

She’d panicked about it to Flynn, written about it in notes in her dream box (in Spanish, just in case anyone found them), and decided Luke could never know. She’s his best friend’s little sister, he’s a year older than her, and he’d probably never even thought about her that way. Luke’s focus is on music, and he hasn’t even dated anyone since the boys got serious about the band. She’s terrified that if she tells him and that if he, very possibly, does not feel the same way, that would just make things awkward and weird, because Julie’s brother is Luke’s best friend, and Alex and Luke are Julie’s friends too, and she doesn’t want to ruin anything. Things are good as they are.

(Well, apart from the ridiculous feeling she gets every time she sees Luke’s stupid face, like sunshine exploding in her chest.)

And the past few weeks have not helped at all. Luke has strengths in school - he always aces creative writing stuff in English class, and he says math is basically the bones of music if you look at it right - but he’s hopeless at science, and when it came up a few weeks ago that he was struggling with a chemistry test and the material was basically what Julie’s AP chemistry class had covered a month ago, one thing led to another and Julie offered to help Luke study.

(Flynn, utterly delighted with this turn of events, has made a lot of comments about Julie and Luke “having chemistry” together. Julie’s just thankful Flynn has refrained from doing this in front of any of the guys, because honestly, she might just die of embarrassment, and it’s hard enough to keep her composure when she’s sitting at the kitchen table with Luke, her arm basically pressed up against his stupid bicep in his stupid sleeveless shirts, and Luke’s close enough she can feel his breath when he turns to ask her a question. Once they reached for the same pen and their fingers brushed and Julie got so flustered that Reggie, passing by, had paused and asked if she needed a glass of water.)

Anyway, the crush is stupid and Julie has resolutely been trying for nearly a year to shove it down every time she thinks about it, but her heart is just full of dumb complicated feelings and she doesn’t know what to do about any of it. And now she’s worried about Luke, too, because Reggie’s right - barring a musical distraction, it’s not like Luke to forget to call his best friend.

The doorbell rings, pulling Julie out of her thoughts, and she jumps up, eager for a distraction. “I’ll get it!”

She hurries to the front door, socked feet slipping on the tiles, and opens it, and - well. Speak of the devil.

Luke Patterson is standing on her doorstep.

Julie’s instantly conscious of the fact that she needs to wash her hair and she’s wearing a pair of Reggie’s old holey sweatpants, rolled up at the cuffs, and that there’s a coffee stain on her shirt. But then she focuses on Luke, and her self-consciousness fades into worry, because he looks... rough.

Luke’s not wearing socks, his sneakers are unlaced, and he’s swallowed in that oversized plaid jacket that always makes him look smaller. His eyes are puffy and red-rimmed, like he’s been crying, and Julie notices with a sharp intake of breath that he’s carrying his duffle bag and his acoustic guitar is strapped to his back. His bike is leaned up against the house.

“Are you okay?” 

Luke gulps, looking uncomfortable, and she just wants to hug him but she doesn’t know if that’s what he wants when he looks this close to tears. “Hey, Julie. Can I come in?” He sounds like he’s trying for casual, but his voice cracks halfway through.

“Of course.” Julie pulls the door open for Luke, and then Reggie’s coming up behind them, and he takes one look at Luke and goes in for a hug. Luke crashes into Reggie’s chest, drops his head to his friend’s shoulder for a second, and Julie looks away, because she’s pretty sure Luke hates people to see him cry.

She steps into the kitchen, which still smells comfortingly like ginger cookies, and pours a glass of water to bring back to the entry. Luke accepts it gratefully and takes a gulp, the way you do when you’re trying to swallow a lump in your throat.

“What happened?” Reggie asks softly. He’s still got his hand on Luke’s arm, and Julie isn’t sure if Luke wants her there, but… she also doesn’t want to leave, because Luke is hurting and that is not okay.

Luke huffs out a tiny laugh that sounds like it wants to be a sob. “Mom and I had a fight. I, uh.” He glances from Reggie to Julie. There are tears on his eyelashes. “I left. The end.”

A small noise has Julie turning to see her mother standing in the doorway. Reggie looks up and immediately turns to Rose as well. “Mom, can Luke stay over?”

Rose takes one look at Luke and nods. “Of course, mijo.” She doesn’t push for reasons why, because she’s an awesome mom, but as Reggie, Julie, and Luke pass her to head upstairs, Rose tilts her head at Luke and opens her arms, offering a hug, and Luke actually does sob then, accepting the hug for a minute, and then he breaks away, wiping at his face with the back of his hand, and Julie’s swallowing a lump of her own in her throat. 

She loves her mom, and she wishes with all her heart that Luke could have what she and Reggie have.

They get the air mattress set up for Luke on the floor of Reggie’s room, Reggie hastily kicking things aside to make room on his messy floor. He gathers up a pile of scattered laundry and leaves, presumably to bring it to the laundry room. Julie edges around Luke in the doorway with an armful of sheets to make up the bed, and he drops his duffle bag to the ground and hurriedly comes to help her. The sheet is fitted, and when Luke kneels down to tuck his corner in, he winces. Julie frowns, straightening, and tries to get a better look at his knees. His jeans are ripped, and she spots some - “Is that blood?”

“Oh.” Luke looks down. “I took a spill off my bike.”

Julie pulls him to his feet and pushes him down onto Reggie’s bed so she can take a look, and notices as she takes his hands that they’re scraped up too, gravel embedded in his palms. She winces in sympathy. “Hold on, I’ll get something to clean that.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Luke tries, and Julie fastens him in place with a firm look she learned from her dad. “Nope. Stay there.”

She’s back with antiseptic and bandages in a minute, and Luke’s sitting where she left him, staring at his scraped-up hands. Reggie is back and has taken over making up the bed. Julie kneels down to clean Luke’s knees as best as she can, wiping away the dirt and blood as gently as she can through the rips in his pants. He’s quiet, but she looks up and he’s biting his lip to stay quiet against the sting of the antiseptic. He does smile a little at the Star Wars band-aids she presses over the cuts, and Julie feels a tiny bit lighter.

Her stupid heart starts to flutter a bit when she takes Luke’s hands in hers to clean them, because they’re big and warm and very still in hers even when she has to pick gravel out of a cut, but she stomps her feelings down emphatically. Now is not the time.

“Thanks,” he says when she’s finished, his voice raspy. 

“Any time.” It’s a stupid thing to say, she thinks. It’s not like she wants him to make a habit of this, because he’s hurt and sad and sitting forlorn in her brother’s room at 10 p.m. on a Thursday night, and she doesn’t want him to be hurting.

It’s weird going to bed knowing Luke is in Reggie’s room on the other side of the wall. She should be familiar with the feeling by now, he stays over enough, but she’s never gotten used to it. It makes her heart beat a little bit faster, knowing he’s just a few feet away, knowing that in the morning she might see him sleepy-eyed and unshaven in the cutoff sweatpants and t-shirts he wears to bed. It’s weirdly intimate, sharing this close of a space with someone when you’re asleep, and her heart aches with it. 

Julie falls asleep to the sound of the boys’ hushed whispers long after they’ve all gone to bed, and when she wakes up at 3 a.m. and goes to the bathroom to get a glass of water, she can hear very quiet, muffled crying coming from Reggie’s room. She falls asleep again listening to Luke’s pain, hugging her pillow and wishing she knew some way she could help.

The next few days feel heavy, like a storm that’s holding off breaking. Rose and Ray, with Luke’s permission, call the Pattersons and arrange for Luke to stay with them for a while. Julie isn’t sure how Luke’s parents took the request, but the important thing is that they agreed. Honestly, she’s kind of mad at them. Sure, Luke can be stubborn and single-mindedly focused on music, and she knows that’s the main thing he clashes with his parents about. But his mom made Luke upset enough to actually run away, and that’s not something Julie feels like forgiving, right now.

(She’s just glad her family is a safe place for Luke to land when he falls.)

Not that Luke is acting upset, after the first night. He’s almost aggressively acting like everything is fine, we’re all fine here. You know, apart from the fact that he’s still got Star Wars bandages on his hands and his guitar is leaned against the wall in Reggie’s bedroom, and how he’s at the Molinas’ all the time except for school. Everyone else is going along with this. 

(Julie knows her parents pulled Luke aside for a gentle talk early on, just to make sure his safety at home wasn’t in danger. She loves her parents so much.)

Alex comes over more often than usual, though, and Luke throws himself into music, and he keeps trying to help out around the house, as if they’ll kick him out if he’s too much of a burden. His energy seems to ebb and flow; the effort of keeping his feelings suppressed must really be taking it out of him.

She finds him alone in the studio on Tuesday night. He’s picking over something wistful-sounding on his guitar, his notebooks spread out in front of him, and when Julie steps inside, he looks startled.

“Sorry, did you need to practice?” He starts sweeping up the loose papers and stuffing them back into his journal, as if preparing to leave. Julie shakes her head. 

“No, no, you’re fine. I already practiced today.” She gestures vaguely at the piano. “Are you - do you want some company?”

“Sure, okay.” Luke slides over on the couch and Julie perches on the arm, a safe distance away so she won’t do something stupid like try to hug him. She clasps her hands between her knees. “Whatcha working on?”

“It’s just something I’m trying,” he says quickly, shutting the journal before she can get a look. He coughs, and Julie tries for a smile.

“Want to jam for a bit?”

“Actually.” Luke hesitates. “Could you just… listen to this for me, see if it’s any good?”

She nods eagerly. “Yeah, of course!” God, this is embarrassing, but she can’t help it. She loves it when Luke asks her about music. His stuff is always so good, and he likes hearing her opinions, and more often than not he uses her suggestions and it always makes her feel warm inside.

He starts playing, just a few chords in a gentle strumming pattern, and she grins at him when he’s done. “That sounds great!”

Luke coughs again, pressing a hand to his chest. “Thanks, Jules.” He ducks his head, grey eyes peering up at her from under his hat, with a smile that’s honestly like a laser right to her heart, and she feels that slow warmth uncurling like sunshine behind her sternum again.

“Want to play Scrabble or something?”

She beats him, because she always does - years of practice with Reggie have honed her skills. They drink sodas from the studio’s minifridge and laugh together when Luke pretends to misspell words in absurd ways, and it almost feels normal. Luke’s cough is getting worse, though, and Julie’s noticed a tickle in her own throat, so they wrap it up and go inside, but she hugs the warmth of his smile to herself the rest of the night, until she falls asleep.

* * *

_Wake me up before you go, go_

_Don’t leave me hanging on like a yo-yo_

_Wake me up…_

Julie groans, slamming her pillow over her head to block out the noise. It’s not helping. She fumbles for her phone, swipes blindly at the screen to turn off the alarm. How is it morning already? 

And who changed her alarm sound?

Her just-awake brain is foggy, but she suddenly recalls the Scrabble game last night - Luke had challenged one of her words, and they agreed to look it up, but he’d forgotten his phone inside, so he borrowed hers.

That absolute dingus. She is never letting him touch her phone again.

Julie would smile, but she just feels exhausted. Her _bones_ ache. Isn’t that an old person thing? She pulls her covers up over her head in an effort to muffle the thumps of the boys getting up next door, but it’s not helping.

She really doesn’t want to get up.

If she wants to beat the boys to the bathroom, though, she’s going to have to. With six people in the Molina house right now, the hot water runs out quickly in the mornings. Living with Reggie as a brother has taught her to be quick about snagging the bathroom in the morning, too, because he takes _forever._

Okay, fine. School days don’t care if Julie’s exhausted or not. She drags herself out of bed.

Emerging from the bathroom, she bumps into Reggie in the hallway. He’s yawning, but dressed for school already - way ahead of her. She’s still in her dinosaur pajamas and leopard claw slippers.

“Hey, little dude. You look terrible.”

“Not little,” Julie retorts instinctively, but her heart’s not in it. She doesn’t have the energy. She tries to edge past her brother in the hallway, but Reggie takes another look at her face and puts a hand on her forehead. His skin feels very cool against her hot face. “Jules, you’re burning up.”

“I just got out of the shower!” she protests. “I’m fine.”

Yeah, she doesn’t really feel fine, but also she doesn’t want to miss class. She hates falling behind. But Reggie, the traitor, is leaning over the stair railing and hollering down to the kitchen. 

“Mom! Julie’s sick too!”

“Tell her to go back to bed!” Rose yells back.

“Julie, go back to bed,” Reggie repeats, as if Julie wasn’t standing right there. She glares at her brother for a minute before giving in with a sigh.

“You said I’m sick ‘too’?” she asks. 

“Yeah, Luke’s been coughing all night - you didn’t hear it?” Reggie shakes his head. “He’s _still_ conked out. Pretty good sign something’s wrong.”

Julie agrees. Luke doesn’t really believe in sleep. Her concern must show on her face, because Reggie wraps her in a hug. “Hey. Just go back to sleep and you’ll feel better in no time.”

Julie shoves at him lightly. “Don’t get too close, you’ll get sick too.”

“Aw, I never get sick.” Her brother grins. “Go back to bed, Jules.”

It’s a relief to climb back under her covers. Julie’s not sure when she started shivering, but she can’t seem to get warm. Everything aches. She’s nearly asleep again, curled up into a tight ball of misery under her blankets, when there’s a knock at her door and her mom enters.

“Hey, niña.” Rose sits down at the edge of the bed and brushes a wayward curl out of Julie’s face. Julie leans into the touch; her mom’s fingers are cool and soft. “I just came to take your temperature, and then you can go back to sleep, okay?”

She tucks the thermometer under her tongue, watching her mom as she moves around the room, closing the curtains, tucking Julie in again. Now that she’s listening for it, she can hear the occasional cough from the next room. Her head feels stuffy, and it’s hard to breathe through her nose so she can keep her mouth closed around the thermometer. It beeps, finally, and Julie snuggles down into her blankets again and drifts off to the sound of her mom moving to Reggie’s room to check on Luke.

It’s not a fun day. Julie’s fever gets worse, and she starts coughing, awful racking spasms that jerk her body forward and make the ache in her joints spike with every jolt. Apparently, she and Luke probably both have the flu. At least neither of them are throwing up. Julie dozes, coughs, dozes again, tries to scroll through social media on her phone but has to close her eyes because they ache. Rose brings up cup after cup of tea with honey, and Luke’s coughing from next door wakes Julie up occasionally, harsh staccato bursts that make her own lungs ache in sympathy. 

The house is pretty quiet, with Carlos and Reggie at school and Ray at work. Rose comes to check on them occasionally, but she’s mostly letting them sleep. The rest is… honestly kinda nice, even if Julie’s too sick to properly appreciate it. She’s been so busy lately, and she can’t remember the last time she even slept in. Always too much to do. Maybe this is her body’s way of telling her to take a break.

It feels like maybe late afternoon when Julie is roused from another nap by footsteps in the hallway. She feels out of it, head full of cobwebs and nose stuffy. There’s a still-steaming cup of tea on her nightstand, so her mom must have been in not too long ago.

A soft knock comes at her bedroom door, and Julie curls her hands around the cup of tea, grateful for the warmth. It’s probably her mom again.

“Come in,” she says, voice hoarse. The door pushes open slowly and Luke is standing there, leaning in her doorway as if standing up is too tiring. He’s got a flowered duvet wrapped around his shoulders and tucked in around himself, he’s carrying a box of Kleenex, and there are dark circles under his eyes. But the grin he gives her is still bright, despite how tired he looks. He quirks an eyebrow at her, an unspoken question.

“Everything okay?” she asks. Look, she doesn’t speak Luke Patterson Eyebrow. If he needs something, he’s going to have to use his words.

He nods. “Just lonely.”

His voice sounds horrible, and just those two words make him double over in a coughing fit. He recovers, and Julie shakes her head at him. “Hey, no. Don’t talk, you’ll strain your vocal chords.” She doesn’t want him to end up with laryngitis. Luke unable to sing would be a really unhappy Luke. She sighs. “Come on, you can sit with me.”

Luke trudges over, blanket trailing behind him like a cape, and slumps down on Julie’s bed, propping himself up against the headboard beside her with a sigh of relief.

“How are you feeling?” she asks, her own voice raspy. 

There’s a slight laugh beside her, and Luke raises a hand flat, tipping it from side to side in a “so-so” gesture.

“Yeah, me too.” Julie settles back against her pillows. She’s not gonna lie, having the guy she’s had a crush on for ages beside her _in her bed_ is doing funny things to her chest. Or maybe that’s the congestion. She’s not sure. A thought occurs to her and she nudges him. “If you wanna talk, you can text me.” 

Luke’s eyes light up. He gives her an endearing little crooked grin and reaches down into his duvet cocoon to pull his phone out of his pocket. A minute later, her phone chimes, and she reaches to turn the sound off - that’s going to get annoying quickly.

_Sorry I got you sick._

She laughs, and the movement makes her chest seize up in another cough. When she’s recovered, she manages, “You’re fine, dude.”

Honestly, it’s really sweet.

Luke texts her a bit and she answers out loud. Mostly asking about her day, how she’s feeling. He pauses, and Julie sees a flicker of uncertainty on his face before he messages her again.

_I think your mom told my parents I’m sick_.

“Yeah, probably.” It’s just the kind of thing parents do, Julie supposes.

_They wanted to talk to me. I guess they’re worried. I said no._

“I mean, you can’t talk right now anyhow.” Julie bumps her shoulder into his in a show of solidarity. “Great excuse.”

He gives another little breathless laugh, and coughs again. This just really sucks, honestly.

Julie casts about for something to keep Luke from leaving and pulls up Spotify on her phone. “Want to listen to some Night Vale?”

They huddle under their separate blankets and listen to Cecil Palmer tell them about weirdly comforting things that should be terrifying, and it’s soothing, as always. Julie falls asleep halfway through the episode, only waking up when the music for the weather segment starts playing. It’s startled Luke, too; she feels his shoulder tense under hers, and when did she rest her head on his shoulder? She blinks up at him sleepily, and Luke grins back at her before gently guiding her head back down where it was. He gives a little contented sigh and closes his eyes again, and yeah, Julie’s just going to let Cecil’s voice lull her back to sleep.

(His eyelashes, though, and the sharp edge of his jawline from the angle she was looking at it - holy shit. And she can’t help thinking that they just fit together. A dangerous thought.)

She fades in and out, Luke’s warmth beside her, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s running a high fever and her bones ache horribly, it’d be perfect.

It’s hard to sleep that night after the day in bed. Julie’s exhausted, but everything aches when she lies down, and she can’t get comfortable. She wonders if Luke’s feeling as alone as she is - Reggie is sleeping on the couch downstairs so he doesn’t catch what they have. She misses Luke sitting beside her. She misses her goodnight hugs from her family.

Being sick sucks.

Her phone lights up with a text, and Julie swipes it open, squinting to see the screen without her glasses. It’s Luke.

_Are you awake?_

_pls dont respond if you’re not._

Julie grins at her screen. _Nope. can’t sleep._

_Want to come hang out?_

She only hesitates for a second before swinging her legs out of bed. It takes her a minute to actually get up, because dizziness hits her when she stands too fast, but eventually she manages to get her slippers and a hoodie on over her pajamas, grabs the extra quilt off the end of her bed, and stumbles, one hand on the wall, to Reggie’s room.

Luke’s sitting in the window seat, staring out at the city lights. He turns at the sound of her quiet footsteps behind him and she can’t see his face very well in the dark, but she’s pretty sure he’s smiling. He always smiles at her, she realises, with a little clench of her heart. 

He pats the seat beside him, and Julie wraps herself in the blanket and lifts her feet onto the window seat, legs extended past Luke, and sighs. 

“You know that Coldplay song? _When you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep?_ ” She tries to sing the lyric, but it’s hard to hit notes properly when you’re whispering, and she stutters on a cough. Luke nods, though. 

“Yeah.” She gives a rueful little laugh.

It’s dark and kind of peaceful, and actually, she feels a bit better now that she’s sitting up. She’s not coughing as much, and eventually she drifts off to sleep. The last thing she sees is Luke’s profile in the moonlight, staring out at the lights of the city.

Reggie wakes them up when he comes in for clean clothes in the morning, trying to be quiet, but Julie opens her eyes and sees him watching them for a moment with a fond little smile, and Julie ducks her face inside her blanket, trying not to smile back, because… yeah.

* * *

Her chest still hurts, but it seems a bit better after a night of sleeping upright. Rose suddenly remembers about Carlos’ dentist appointment, and when she mentions cancelling it, Julie and Luke both insist that they’ll be fine on their own for a few hours. Ray is gone for the day already, and Reggie is at school, but they’ll be fine.

They are not fine.

Julie manages at first. She goes to her own room and changes, because she’s feeling gross wearing the same sweaty pajamas for so long. She straightens the bed, in case Luke wants to hang out again, and then she’s so tired she has to lie down again before she passes out.

A knock at her doorframe, and there’s Luke again.

“Morning,” he rasps, and Julie raises her head, smiling. 

“Hey, you got your voice back!”

She’s too tired to get up, so she just waves him over and Luke sits down in the same place as before. They decide on a movie and pick _Emma_ , because that’s what Luke has to read for English and Julie just really likes it. (She might have a crush on Romola Garai, but that’s between her and her Tumblr.)

Both of their coughs are worsening, though, probably not helped by the fact that they’re talking about the movie as they watch it. Rose got them breakfast and hot drinks before she left, but they’re out, and tea with honey sounds really nice, so Julie leaves Luke dozing, head tipped back against her headboard, and makes her way downstairs. She can manage a cup of tea.

She gets dizzy again while the kettle boils, sits on the floor to wait for it, and maybe this was a bad idea. But she’s down here now, so she keeps going, making a cup of tea for Luke while she’s at it. She takes both mugs and trudges back to the stairs. They look impossibly steep and she is out of what little energy she had.

She sits down halfway up, breathing hard. This _sucks._

Luke’s socked feet appear in her peripheral vision. Julie tips her head back against the wall, looking up at him, and he raises an eyebrow. (That damn beanie shouldn’t be that cute, or this distracting, when she’s finding it hard to breathe.)

She nods to the mugs of tea next to her on the floor, and Luke picks them up, looking concerned. She waves him on. “I’ll be up in a minute.” The statement ends with a coughing fit muffled in her elbow, so he doesn’t look reassured. By the time Julie makes it to the top of the stairs, he’s back from her room, supporting her with an arm around her waist.

Are butterflies in your chest when you’re also struggling not to cough up a lung a bad sign? She’s asking for a friend.

She makes it back to the bed with his help and they start the movie again. But the tea isn’t doing much to help the ever-present itch in the back of Julie’s throat, and she keeps _coughing_ , and then she can barely stop, can’t get in a breath without being bent over double. She swings her legs out of bed, almost tumbling to the floor and ignoring Luke’s startled exclamation behind her, and stumble-runs to the bathroom, because if she’s going to puke she doesn’t want to do it on her floor, and then she’s sitting on the bathtub edge doubled over and coughing so hard she might throw up after all. She’s coughing and coughing and choking, and tears blind her eyes and she can’t breathe, everything’s blurry and she can’t _see_.

Running footsteps, and then Luke’s kneeling in front of her, voice frantic as he tries to figure out what to do, but he’s holding her knees in a reassuring grip while she coughs into her hands, and then _finally_ she hacks something up and she can breathe again, and Luke’s wiping the mucus off her hand gently with a tissue and _she can breathe_. But she’s still on the verge of panic, and Luke pulls her off the bathtub edge almost into his lap and wraps his arms around her. “Hey. Breathe with me.”

Julie breathes. She pressed her forehead into Luke’s t-shirt and tries not to cry and focuses on breathing with him, long steady breaths in and out. She’s rubbing her fingers and thumb together behind his shoulder, trying to ground herself in a rhythm, and she’s feeling calmer now.

Luke moves one arm from where it’s wrapped around her and the shower behind her turns on. He gently helps her sit on the floor and then gets up to close the door. The mirror is fogging up already from the hot water.

Julie wipes away tears with a shaking hand and looks from Luke to the water, puzzled, and Luke gives her a small smile, his own eyes still a bit teary. “Steam,” he explains hoarsely. “It’ll help.”

She nods, lets herself slump forward and rest her forehead on her knees. God, that was horrible. Luke’s hand rubs her back, and his other hand takes one of hers, and she looks up at him and realises she got snot on his t-shirt. Embarrassing.

The corner of Luke’s mouth tugs up in that crooked grin, as if this is all totally normal, and he takes his hand off her back. She misses the warmth. 

“Sit back against the wall and tip your head back,” he tells her. “You’ll breathe better.”

He doesn’t let go of Julie’s hand.

They sit like that for a while and Julie focuses on breathing in the muggy air. She can feel moisture gathering in her hair, and a drop falls off the end of her nose. She wants to enjoy the feeling of Luke holding her hand, but she’s getting cold despite the warmth of the bathroom, and she shivers. Luke pushes himself up on his feet, grunting with the effort, steadies himself against the counter for a minute, and leaves. He’s back in a minute with her duvet, wrapping it around her shoulders before sitting down again.

She lifts the edge of the blanket and motions him in under it, and Luke gives her a sheepish little smirk before accepting, tucking the duvet in around himself too. She’s not sure if she’s allowed to take his hand again, but after a minute, she feels his callused fingers close around hers again. Her heart’s finally calmed down again after the panic of earlier, although it keeps doing a funny little hiccup when Luke rubs his thumb across her knuckles in a reassuring gesture.

This is probably totally platonic on his part, she thinks. Luke is just a very tactile person. He always has been. He’s probably just reaching out to her because he can’t be around Alex and Reggie right now. She shouldn’t read into it.

But she’s got that warmth back in her chest, easing the ache of her lungs, and Flynn isn’t here to tell her that indulging her crush on her brother’s best friend is a bad idea, and honestly, Julie is just tired of resisting. If she can have this for the space of a few days while they’re sick, while she has the plausible deniability of them both being lonely and cuddly, then… she’ll take it.

“How did you know about the steam?” she asks hoarsely when she’s feeling steadier.

“I had bronchitis when I was twelve,” Luke says. “My mom did that for me. A lot.”

He goes quiet, and she doesn’t know how to ask anything more, so she doesn’t - just holds his hand and hopes that’s enough.

Rose finds them when she gets back from dropping Carlos off at school. The water’s gone cold, and they’re both asleep on the bathroom floor, huddled into each other. But when she wakes them up, they’re breathing better. She sends them back to bed - “to _sleep_ , mijos, not just to watch movies” - and Julie curls up against a stack of pillows on her own bed, thinking about guitar-callused fingers in hers.

She wakes up to voices downstairs. Reggie is home, and Alex is here too, from the sound of it. She wishes they’d come up and say hi, but she gets it - everyone is supposed to be keeping their distance. They could at least come to the door, she thinks. Is Luke awake and missing them too? It feels like the world has gone on without her, and she can’t shake the feeling of being forgotten. 

She texts Flynn for a bit in an attempt to stop feeling mopey, and that helps. Flynn is absolutely losing it over Julie falling asleep on Luke’s shoulder, and Julie protests that it’s not like that, no way, she didn’t even enjoy it, and Flynn calls her bluff and sends her a dozen heart emojis and it’s a really nice distraction.

And then the boys’ voices sound in the hallway, and Reggie and Alex are in the door of Julie’s room, each holding a tray, and she grins wearily at them, feeling a bit silly. Of course they didn’t forget about her.

“We made you wonton soup!” Reggie announces proudly. “Sunset Curve special.” He pulls his t-shirt up over his mouth and nose in a probably ineffective mask and comes into the room, setting a tray down on Julie’s lap. 

“Don’t worry, we taste-tested it,” Alex says. “It’s not horrible.”

“Not horrible,” isn’t exactly resounding praise, but Julie’s actually kinda hungry. Reggie backs away and bows with a flourish. “Enjoy.” His voice is muffled through the t-shirt, and Julie giggles. She looks down at the tray. The soup actually looks amazing, even if she can’t really smell it, and there’s a little plate of crackers, and a mug of hot apple cider which Reggie knows is her favourite when she’s not feeling well. There’s even a tiny bouquet of flowers, stems wrapped with string. She thinks she might be about to cry.

“I’m gonna hug you guys _so much_ when I feel better,” she says, looking up at the two of them.

“Are you going to try the soup?” Alex asks anxiously. Julie takes a tentative spoonful. It tastes amazing - chicken broth laced with garlic and onions and ginger. Some of the wontons are a little bit exploded, but it’s all delicious. She grins and gives them a thumbs up. “Amazing. Thank you.”

Alex and Reggie beam at her before heading down the hallway to Reggie’s room to bring Luke his tray. She can hear them talking to him from the doorway for a little bit, and when they come back for her tray, she’s managed to finish all the food they brought her and is curled up half-asleep again, feeling warm and safe and happy.

* * *

She’s feeling a little better on Friday, and Luke seems a bit better too. He gravitates to her room again almost as soon as they’re both awake in the morning. They’re both looking a bit worse for wear; she knows she hasn’t showered since Wednesday morning, and Luke needs to shave (which is honestly kind of hot). She used a lot of deodorant this morning, and apparently Luke did too - or maybe they’re just both too congested to notice how they smell. Either way, she finds that she’s stopped minding about Luke seeing her tired and messy, with unwashed hair tucked under one of his beanies. She’s wearing a hoodie she picked up in Reggie’s room and tucked under her blankets, drinking yet another cup of tea, and Luke enters as usual but stops short at the sight of her, blinking.

“You okay?” She glances down at herself, not sure what he’s looking at.

He recovers a bit. “Yeah. Uh.” He’s still looking a bit thrown, and Julie raises her eyebrows. (That still hurts. The ache in her body is a bit better, but all of her skin hurts today, honestly.) “You’re just - ” He swallows. “I think that’s my hoodie, ‘s all.”

Julie looks at the maroon hoodie again, eyes wide. Come to think of it, she’s never seen Reggie wearing this. Her face flames, and she reaches for the hem of the sweater, about to pull it off.

“No!” Luke almost yelps, and Julie lowers her arms blankly. “Uh. I’ve got another shirt underneath, if that’s what you’re worried about?” _Again_ with the blushing.

“Uh.” Luke’s eyes go wide too, so that wasn’t what he was thinking. “I was just going to say you should keep it.”

He sits down on her bed in his usual spot, not saying anything. Julie hugs her knees, hiding her face in them. Ugh. The ground can swallow her up any time now.

Her phone chimes with an incoming call, and she stops hiding long enough to see that it’s Carlos FaceTiming her. She grins despite herself and accepts the call.

She hasn’t seen her little brother since she got sick, apart from the memes he’s been texting her at regular intervals. He’s apparently downstairs eating breakfast, talking with his mouth full about his week and how he hopes she gets better soon so she can help him with the Lego Starship Enterprise he’s building with his friend Miles. 

She manages not to startle when Luke puts his arm around her shoulders in an are-we-okay kind of hug, and smiles up at him. Carlos doesn’t say anything about that, which is odd, but she’s too grateful that he’s not teasing her in front of Luke to wonder why. She doesn’t know how much more embarrassment she can handle this morning.

Carlos leaves for school, and Julie, attempting to dissipate the awkwardness she’s still feeling, suggests a movie. They decide on _My Neighbour Totoro_. Luke’s never seen it, but Julie loves it, because Studio Ghibli movies always make her feel like being home.

But halfway through, she feels Luke’s shoulders shaking beside her and looks over to find him crying, both hands pressed over his mouth in an effort to be quiet. It’s the scene where Satsuke thinks her mom is dead and her little sister is missing, and it always makes Julie tear up too, especially after the health scare her own mom had a few years ago. But Luke is sobbing now like his heart’s going to break, and Julie frantically hits pause and shoves the laptop away so they won’t kick it off the bed, and then wraps her arms fiercely around him.

It takes Luke a long time to calm down. He keeps trying to breathe steadily and then breaking down again, and God, this is really hitting him hard. Julie pulls his head onto her shoulder, her heart aching, and wishes she’d remembered about the sad mom-related storyline, because she knows exactly where his mind went with it.

He gets up to go to the bathroom and she hears him blowing his nose loudly, splashing water on his face. When he gets back, his eyes are very red, but he looks like he’s maybe okay. Julie holds out her arms and Luke climbs back onto the bed and curls into her shoulder.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, muffled into her hoodie. Julie shakes her head. 

“Hey, no. No, you’re fine, Luke.”

He doesn’t say anything, but eventually he repositions himself so he’s lying down, his cheek resting on her leg. His beanie’s mostly fallen off, so Julie sets it aside and rests her hand tentatively on his head. He makes a soft noise, but it’s not an unhappy one, and she likes how soft his hair feels so she stays like that, threading her fingers through it as his breathing evens out. Eventually she realises he’s fallen asleep, his head growing heavier in her lap as he relaxes.

It's like the storm that's been hovering for a week has broken, and suddenly she’s exhausted too. The peace is really nice. Julie lets her own eyes slide shut, and just breathes.

She drifts awake a while later when her mom pokes her head into the room. Julie blinks at her sleepily, taking in the way Rose smiles so fondly at the two of them, but her eyelids are so heavy, and Luke’s a comfortable warm weight against her leg, his arms now wound around her waist, and she doesn’t want to move just yet.

“What happened?” she asks, a few hours later. They’ve both woken up from their nap and Luke seems in no hurry to leave her room. They’re sitting cross-legged across from each other on her bed. Rose brought them more food - this time her spicy chicken stew, which tastes like comfort to Julie but makes Luke’s eyes water. He says he’s enjoying it, at least.

“What d’you mean?” Luke’s trying for casual, but the way he’s avoiding her eyes and pushing his spoon around his bowl tells her he knows what she’s asking about. She doesn’t want to push, but she doesn’t quite want to drop it, either. He needs to talk to someone.

Luke’s shoulders drop and he exhales.

“With my mom?”

Julie nods. 

“I didn’t know it was that bad,” she says quietly.

“I-it’s not like - she’s not - I just can’t _talk_ to her.” Luke sounds frustrated. “Y’know?” It’s rushing out of him now, like a dam’s broken. “I tell her what I want and she doesn’t hear me because she’s got her _own_ damn stuff she wants for me and my life, and I can’t - I don’t know how to meet her in the middle. And then my dad’s too busy trying to talk us down to actually help.” His eyes are wet with frustrated tears. “Mom wants me to go to college, and she thinks I spend too much time on music when she wants me to like, be a teacher or something, and I dunno, I was _trying_ , I was studying harder because I thought it’d make her happy, you know I was - ”

Julie drops her own spoon and reaches for Luke’s hands. They’re shaking.

“But we had a gig the other week, an’ it was late and Mom and I’d already had a fight, just over something dumb, you know? And I knew if I was out late she’d flip out, so I told her I was staying at Alex’s to study.” His mouth twists, unhappy. “And then Friday I got home from practice and she’d just got off the phone with Alex’s mom, and of course that all blew up in my face, just like that.” He shakes his head, pulling one hand out of hers to wipe the tears off his cheeks. “I just - I couldn’t deal with it any more. So I came here.” His voice is thick and raw with emotion. “I knew your folks would be cool with it, and I just… needed some space.”

Julie carefully sets both of their bowls on her nightstand and leans forward to fold him in another hug. His arms come up to wrap around her.

“It’s stupid, but… I didn’t even get to show her my chemistry test,” he mutters.

“Can I help?” Julie asks softly. 

He gives a choky laugh. “Jules, you already help so much, just by being here.” He hugs her tighter and then sits back, looking tired.

“That song I was working on the other day,” he says. “I-it’s for her.”

Julie smiles, because of course. Luke expresses himself best through music; it’s regular words and interactions that don’t come as easily to him. Of course he’d turn to a song if he felt stuck communicating. 

“That’s a good idea,” she says softly. “If you need any help - ”

“Yeah.” Luke gives her a smile that’s only a little wobbly. “Thanks, Jules.”

They’re nearly finished eating when he adds, “I was thinking about calling her.”

Julie squeezes his hand. “If you want me there while you do, let me know.”

“I don’t think - ” Luke lets out a long, tired sigh. “I don’t think I want to, today. But maybe tomorrow.”

They move to the window seat in Reggie’s room and settle down to listen to music together. Luke reaches for Julie’s hand again and it’s starting to feel natural and right, and Julie doesn’t want to think about what that means, so she just focuses on the way his fingers feel laced with hers, the way her skin feels electric where his hand is touching hers. She falls asleep listening to Billie Eilish, and doesn’t wake up coughing once.

She wakes up a little to voices, warm arms around her, the feeling of being carried. Luke’s voice is above her, rumbling through his chest against her shoulder. He sounds out of breath, but even mostly asleep, Julie recognises that stubborn tone.

“I’m okay, I got her.”

Her dad’s voice. “You sure, mijo? You don’t have to carry everything alone. We can help you.”

Julie hopes he’ll listen. She drifts off again, safe in Luke’s arms, and barely wakes up when he puts her in her bed.

* * *

Saturday morning, Julie is feeling better enough to take a shower. She’s exhausted and has to rest on the bathroom floor for a bit afterwards, but she’s clean again and that feels amazing. There are clean sheets on her bed when she gets back to her room, and it smells like fresh air, like the windows were open while she was in the bathroom. Rose takes Julie’s temperature and pronounces her fever gone, as is Luke’s, and that they’re probably not contagious any more. Carlos and Reggie both tumble through her bedroom door a few minutes later, gently attacking her with hugs.

Rose enlists Carlos to help with clean sheets for Luke’s bed while he’s in the shower, and Reggie offers to condition Julie’s hair. It’s peaceful, sitting in the morning light from her window at her vanity while her brother combs careful fingers through her curls. He’s pretty good at it, actually; sometimes when he’s got extra time in the morning, he’ll do her hair in braids or Leia buns or something, and he’s paid careful attention over the years to how she manages her hair, so she trusts him with it. She’s barely seen Reggie in almost a week, so it’s nice to have his company back.

“So,” her brother says casually. He’s intent on a section of her hair, but he looks up and their eyes meet in the mirror. Reggie’s are full of mischief, and Julie groans inwardly. “You and Luke have been pretty cosy.”

She wishes now that she hadn’t sat facing the mirror, because this way she gets a front-row seat to the blush climbing up her cheeks. “It’s not - ” She stops in the instinctive protest. She doesn’t want to lie to him, and Reggie’s always been good at seeing right through her. For someone who finds it convenient to come across as a ditz a lot of the time, her brother is very perceptive.

“Okay,” Julie says softly. “I guess it is… like that. It’s something.” She meets Reggie’s eyes again, worried brown to green. “I just don’t know what it is.”

Reggie hums. “Okay.”

“I - I really like him?” Julie blurts. “But I didn’t - I don’t wanna mess things up with our friend group, I don’t want to make anything weird, and Luke was your friend first and I don’t know if that’s okay with you and I might have been stressing out about this for months? I just didn’t know how to talk about it or if it was okay and I’m just… kind of scared.” She stops for breath, and Reggie wraps his arm around her shoulders from behind, resting his chin on her head. 

“Hey. It’s okay, Jules.”

“Really?”

“Okay, first of all, have you _seen_ the way he looks at you?”

Julie’s brain halts. “How does he look at me?”

“Like you - I dunno, like you’re the sun or something.” Reggie grins at her. “Dude, he drops everything else when you walk in a room. Have you seriously not noticed?”

Julie’s mouth is hanging open. Reggie goes on. “Anyway. Yeah, of course it’s okay.”

“Really?”

Her brother gives her the same warm, encouraging smile he’d given her when she’d told him she was bisexual, the same smile he gives Alex when he won’t stop talking about Willie, the same smile he has for Carlos when their little brother gets really excited about his latest science interest. “Yeah, really. If you like him, you should tell him. It won’t screw up the band or anything. I promise.”

Julie reaches up behind her and hugs Reggie, and he wraps his other arm around her. The point of his chin is sharp on top of her head, and she squirms as the hug turns into a headlock, giggling. He won’t let go, so she bites his arm, not gently, and Reggie yelps, jumping away exaggeratedly. “Brat.”

Julie grins up at him, spinning around lazily to face him in her desk chair. “You love me.”

“I do,” Reggie says, resigned. He pauses for a second before smirking. “Also? You and Luke are so, so obvious. Like, worse than Alex and Willie levels of pining. All over your face every time you look at him. Kinda gross, but also cute.”

“Ugh, okay, get out of my room.”

“Good luck, kiddo,” he calls over his shoulder.

“I’m barely younger!” she yells after him. It’s kinda nice having the energy to yell again.

The shower shuts off next door, and a while later, she hears the door open and Luke’s footsteps padding down the hallway, pausing at Julie’s partly-open door. She takes a deep breath.

“Morning, Luke,” she calls. He pokes his head in, a grin spreading over his face at the sight of her. She’s wearing his hoodie again, because her mom is awesome and washed it this morning, and the sleeves are the perfect kind of too-long where she can tuck her hands inside the sleeves. Her heart kind of feels squishy at the sight of Luke. What did Reggie say? “He looks at you like you’re the sun.” She’s pretty sure she does the same thing.

She beams back at Luke and pats the bed beside her, and he comes over, flopping down beside her. He’s tall and warm and freshly shaved, wearing clean sweats and one of his familiar band t-shirts, his hair wet and shaggy around his face. “Man, taking a shower should not be this tiring.”

“I know, right? I had to sit down for like, fifteen minutes after I finished,” Julie tells him.

She was planning to say it, but now that Luke’s here in her room, tired smile lighting her up like sunshine, she feels suddenly self-conscious again. She takes his hand instead, and he lets her fold it between hers, his smile shifting to something softer.

“You okay, Jules?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She raises her eyes to his, and Luke’s eyes crinkle up a little at the corners as he smiles at her. 

“This - this last couple of days,” she says. “It’s been good. I mean, it really sucked being sick? But being sick with you is great. Good! I mean!” Luke’s watching her intently, as if he knows what she’s trying to say with her stumbling words, and he reaches out his free hand, tracing her cheek. She stills.

“Me too,” he says quietly. 

“I just don’t want to stop doing this,” she says in a rush. “Cuddling with you. Spending time with you - it’s been so good, Luke.”

“Yeah,” he breathes. “Hey, Jules?”

She inches closer. Both of Luke’s hands are holding hers now. He rubs his thumb over her knuckles, over her chipped black nail polish. 

“Can I kiss you?”

“Y-yeah.” Julie feels like her heart’s going to pound right out of her chest. “I’d like that.”

They pull each other in, sitting side by side on her bed, and Luke’s mouth meets hers, and -

She’s never kissed someone like this before. Luke’s lips are soft and warm against hers, and Julie’s heart steadies a little, still pounding, but less like it’s going to gallop away without her and more like it’s found a place to gravitate towards. That sunshine warmth spreads all through her, and she brings a hand up to cup Luke’s cheek, and he’s tangling a hand in her curls, and it’s honestly exactly what she wanted.

Luke breaks away and Julie chases his lips for a moment instinctively before pulling back, looking up at him. His cheeks are flushing, and he’s laughing, breathing hard.

“I can’t breathe through my nose,” he gasps, “give me a second - ” and Julie collapses in laughter on his shoulder, their hands clasped, and she feels completely, incandescently happy.

**Author's Note:**

> \- The song Luke sets Julie's ringtone to is "Wake Me Up" by WHAM, and it is just as loud and obnoxiously cheerful as you'd expect.  
> \- Wonton soup, or at least the broth, is one of my favourite things when I'm sick -this is the recipe I use. And hot apple juice or apple cider is really good too.  
> \- I had influenza this spring and had pretty much the same near-choking experience Julie has, and it was Not Fun. Do not recommend. I also had to sleep sitting up for a week because I couldn't breathe lying down.  
> \- I love listening to Welcome to Night Vale when I'm sick and trying to rest, but the weather music ALWAYS wakes me up with a jump.  
> \- My Neighbour Totoro is so good, but when I watched it this spring we had to pause it at exactly the same spot Julie and Luke do, because I was crying so hard. Oof.
> 
> Hit me up on tumblr at greenestcoat!


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